Electric iron



April 15, 1952 M. A. ROLLMAN 2,593,194

ELECTRIC IRON Filed Oct. 17, 1947 2 s1-1 s.. s 1

50 52 54 20 2 INVENTOR.

' MICHAEL A. ROLLMAN F7613 BY April 15, 1952. M. A. ROLLMAN 2,593,194

ELECTRIC IRON Filed on. 17, 1947 2 smws-amm 2 76 INVENTOR.

M/GHAEL A. ROLLMA/V F/6.5 BY

ATT).

Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE ELECTRIC IRON Michael A. Rollman, Landisville, Pa.

Application October 17, 1947, Serial No. 780,529

4 Claims. (01. 21925) This invention relates to improvements in electric sadirons and more particularly to temperature-indicating means therefor as well as thermostatic control devices for such irons.

Heretofore, in electric irons, temperature-indicating means as well as thermostatic switch setting means have been included in the iron mechanisms, but for the most part, such means have been positioned on the bodies or handles of such irons in positions where the indicia of said means cannot readily be viewed without the operator stooping to read the indicia or without twisting or tilting the iron so as to bring th indicia into view. Further, manipulating the setting means generally requires both hands of the operator, one to hold the iron and the other to actuate the setting means.

It is the object of this invention to provide temperature-indicating means at the top of the forward end of the handle of an electric iron whereby the same may be readily viewed at all times during the operation of the iron.

It isa further object of the invention to include, if desired, with such temperature-indicating means thermostatic switch setting means which are likewise positioned at the top ofthe forward end of the handle of an electric iron, such setting means preferably being annular and surrounding the dial of the temperature-indicating means so as to produce a compact construction and position the switch setting means where it can be easily manipulated with one hand while the same hand holds the iron, if necessary.

Still further objects are to include a switch and. signal light in the circuit of the iron in certain embodiments of this invention, as well as provide efficient heat-conducting means between the sole plate of the iron and the temperature- .indicating means, such conducting means being so constructed that they preferably have separate portions which may be parted incident to the separation of the handle and body of the iron from the sole plate when separation of these parts is necessaryfoi' repair and other purposes.

Details of these objects as well as details of the invention and other objects thereof are. set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. lis a side elevation of an electric iron embodying the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the forward portion of one embodiment of the iron comprising the present invention.

Fig. ,3 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in cross section, of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 but showing more of the body and sole plate of the iron than are illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to Fig. 3 but il1ustrating details of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a body or casing i l of an electric iron, sometimes called a sadiron, is separably connected to a sole plate I2, the body I 0 also having a handle I4 connected thereto. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle may be molded from suitable heat-resisting material such as a phenolic condensation product or a ceramic. An electric conduit is of any suitable type is connected to the handle and forms part of the circuit of the electric iron. The body Ill preferably encloses a heat-insulating plate l8 which may be formed of an asbestos im pregnated substance or any other suitable material. An electric heating grid 20 is preferably carried by the sole plate [2 and is disposed below the heat-insulating plate I8. The grid 23 has its terminal ends connected in circuit with the conduit [6 in a conventional manner which does not form part of this invention, and thus a diagram of the circuit is omitted from the drawings.

The handle I4 is preferably molded from suitable heat-resisting resinous materia1 such as a phenolic condensation product and, if desired, such handle may be molded with suitable channels 22 and 24 formed therein for purposes of accommodating the wiring of the circuit of the iron. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 through 3, said handle is also preferably formed with a recess 2 6 which communicates withchannel 22 and receives a switch 28 havin a finger-operating button 39. Said switch is also connected in the circuit of the iron so as to control the flow of current to the grid 20. It will be observed that the switch is preferably mounted near the forward end of the handle l4, and while said switch is illustrated with the operating button 30 disposed on the upper surface of the handle, it is to be understood that said switch may be mounted so that said button is on the side of the handle, for example, if such position will more readily and comfortably facilitate the operation of the switch.

One of the principal features of the present invention is the provision of a temperature-indicating means, generally indicated 32, which is mounted in the top portion of the forward end of the handle M as is clearly shown in all of the figures. The indicating means 32 may be any one of a number of suitable means now avail able. Such means are generally operated by a spirally arranged bimetallic member, not illustrated, said member automatically operating a rotatable indicatingfinger 34 which functions in conjunction with an indicia-bearing dial 3% which 3 is normally disposed horizontally during the operation of the iron. That is, the planeof the dial is substantially parallel to the plane of the sole plate. The indicia on said dial correspond to temperatures at which the various fabrics noted on the dial may be safely ironed.

The indicating means 32 and the sole plate 12 are directly connected thermally by a heat-conducting member 3:; which in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3 comprises a cylindrical metallic member disposed in a vertical opening formed in the forward leg to of handle i i. The member 38 is so formed that its lower end has a greater diameter than the remainder of the member, said end being provided with a cylindrical socket The difierence in diameters between the lower portion of member 38 and the remainder provides an annular shoulder 44 which is received in a complementary seat in the M of the handle. The upper end of member 38 is threaded and said member is secured within the opening in leg 49 by a nut 65 which is threaded onto the upper end of member 38. If desired, a lock washer 58 may be mounted beneath said nut to insure a firm setting of member 38 within the handle. The upper end of member 33 is in firm abutting engagement with the lower end or bottom of indicating means 32 so as to readily transmit heat between member 33 and indicating means 32.

Sole plate E2 carries a split stud 55 having a rounded upper end and a threaded lower end of reduced diameter which is secured in a suitable threaded socket formed in the sole plate l2. To

facilitate assembly, the stud may be provided.

with an hexagonal portion 52, and a lock washor 54 may be mounted. between the portion 52 and the solo plate 2. The stud 5? is split to provide opposed portions which resiliently and frictionally engage the walls of the cylindrical socket G5 in member 33 when the handle and body of the iron are assembled with the sole plate l2. During such assembly operation, the grid. 20 is normally carried by the sole plate, and the insulating plate i8 is carried by the body, but, if desired, the insulating plate I8 could also be carried by the sole plate.

It will be noted that the insulating plate 18 and grid 28 are provided with axiall aligned apertures to receive the lower end of member 38 and the stu 5:3. In view of the frictional engagement between stud and the walls of socket 55, it will be seen that the body and handle of the iron. may be readily separated from or connected to the sole plate; and the stud 59 and socket com 'ise separable portions of what may be considered. for practical purposes a continuous heat-conducting member between the sole plate 52 and indicating means 32. Such separable portions are readily connected or separated incident to the sole plate being connected to or separated from the handle and body of the iron.

During the operation or this embodiment of the invention, the operator occasionally observes the indicating means 32; and when the finger 34 reaches the desired indicia on. the dial 36, the switch button 38 is moved to its off position to break the circuit to the heating grid. When the finger 3e recedes from the desired temperature indication, the switch button 36 is moved to its on position so that the iron may again be heated to the desired temperature.

Under certain conditions, the use of a temperature-indicatingmeans and switch is superior to a thermostatic switch for automatically controlling the temperature of the sole plate since it has been found in actual operation of such automatic thermostatic switches that elements thereof rapidly deteriorate or ecome deformed so that even after a relatively short use, the indicating means of such thermostatic switches frequently differs from the actual temperature of the sole plate, whereby such thermostatic switches and their indicating means fail to be reliable. This failure in accuracy will not occur in the embodiment of the invention described above and illustrated especially in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

If it is desired, however, to utilize an automatically operable thermostatic switch to control the heating of the sole plate of an electric iron, the present invention contemplates using a construction such as is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 and comprising another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the temperatureindicating means 32 is disposed within a socket 56 formed within a headed metallic member 58 having an integral stem 60 depending into a vertical opening 62 in the forward leg it of the handle 14. The upper head portion of the member 58 is rotatably mounted in an enlarged cavity 64 formed in the handle and communicating with opening 62. An annular indicia-bearing ring 66 surrounds the upper end of the headed member 58, said ring preferably being of heat-insulating material such as a phenolic condensation product. The ring may be frictionally joined to member 58 by press fitting, for example. Said ring comprises a manipulating member for a thermostatic switch to be described.

It will be noted that the ring 66 is disposed in a plane adjacent the upper surface of handle I 4 and the ring is so arranged relative to said handle that the ring may be readily manipulated by a thumb and/or finger of the operator without requiring the removal of the operators hand from the handle l4, if desired. The indicia on ring 66 are clearly shown in Fig. 4 and cooperating therewith is a plate '58 having an annular portion Ill which surrounds the upper portion of temperature-indicating means 32. Plate 58 is secured to the handle by any suitable means, such as screws 12. The plate is also provided with an opening 14 relative to which one of the indicia on the ring 66 is set to appear through the opening, such setting corresponding to the temperature of the sole plate at which the indicated material may be safely ironed. When the manipulating ring 66 is moved so that the OH indication shows through the opening 14, the thermostatic switch will be opened and the circuit to the grid 201swill be disrupted.

A thermostatic switch generally indicated 16 is preferably mounted on the sole plate 12 and is accommodated within suitable openings formed in the insulating plate l8 and grid 20. This switch is the type which functions automatically and is conventional in that it may be set to different positions corresponding to the temperature at which the switch will automatically open. Such setting is accomplished by rotating 9. member 78 which is, for purposes of the present invention, provided with a cross pin 80 that is received within a slot 82 formed in the lower end of stem 60. Bythis means, rotation of headed member 53 willbe transmitted to member 18 of the thermostatic switch to accomplish the setting function ofthe switch. The member 58, in conjunction with ring 66 comprises a settable member which is readily separable from the member 18 of the thermostatic switch incident to the separation of the handle and body of the iron from the sole plate l2. Conversely, when the handle and body are connected to the sole plate I2, the thermostatic switch and settable member described above are incidentally readily connectible, although a certain amount of rotation of the settable member may be previously required in order to bring the slot 82 into alignment with the cross pin '80.

For purposes of providing direct heat transmission to the temperature indicator 32 from the sole plate [2, a ribbonlike, metallic member 84 is provided which is secured at one end to the sole plate by any suitable means such as a screw 86, or the same may be welded or brazed to the sole plate. The other end of the member 84 is coiled in the form of an helix 88 for a considerable portion of its length. The convolutions of the helix closely engage the stem 60 of the settable member comprising member 58 and ring 66. Preferably, the member 84 could be formed from bimetallic material suitably selected'so that upon the transmission of heat, the helix will contract so that the convolutions thereof will very snugly engage the stem 60. However, when cool, the helix "88 will expand and may be moved relative to the stem 60 as when the handle and body iii are being separated from the sole plate l2. Thus, the helix 88 and stem 60 comprise separable portions of a metallic heat-conducting means directly connecting the sole plate with the temperatureindicating means 32. Said portions are readily separated and connected incident to the sole plate being separated from or connected to the handle and body of the iron.

Since the member 84 will conduct the heat of the sole plate during operation, the opening 62 which receives the member and particularly the helix portion thereof is larger in diameter than that of the helix so as to provide an insulating space between the member and the material of the handle. If desired, the opening 62 may be lined with a sleeve of heat-insulating material which is more resistant to heat than the material of the handle.

If desired, in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, a light having a globe 80 may be positioned in the handle l4 and connected in the circuit of the thermostatic switch 76 and grid 29 in such a manner that when the thermostatic switch 16 is closed for purposes of heating the grid, the light will be lit and thus indicate that current is flowing through the grid. The complete circuit just described is not illustrated since it is believed to be clear without a diagram.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the embodiment shown in'Figs. 4 and 5 comprises a compact means for not only indicating the true tem perature of the sole plate through the medium of the temperature-indicating means 32 for purposes of constantly being able to check the accuracy of the automatic thermostatic switch, but the thermostatic switch is provided with control means having an indicating ring so positioned that it may be readily viewed and manipulated by an operator without stooping or tilting the iron to set the thermostatic switch to a desired predetermined temperature at which the switch will open when such temperature is reached in the sole plate. The indicia-bearing ring 66 of the manipulating member for the thermostatic switch is annular and surrounds the temperature-indicating means 32 both for compactness and ease of read ing and manipulation. Notwithstanding the compact arrangement of this construction, the heatconducting connecting means between the temperature indicator and the sole plate as well as the connection between the thermostatic manipulating member and the thermostatic switch are readily separable and connectible incident to the sole plate being separated from and connected to the handle and body.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferred embodiments and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

1. [in electric iron having in combination, a sole plate, an electric grid means arranged to heat said sole plate when current passes through said means, a handle for said iron, temperatureindicating means comprising a dial and pointer movable in response to temperature variations in said sole plate and carried by said handle at the top of the'forward end thereof, said dial being viewable from the top of said iron during the normal use thereof, means directly connecting the sole plate and indicating means to render the latter responsive to the temperature of the sole plate, a circuit to and. from said grid means, a thermostatic switch responsive to the temperature of said sole plate and connected in the circuit of said grid means to automatically control the opening and closing of the same, and settable means carried by said handle and connected to said thermostatic switch and arranged to be moved to a predetermined position corresponding to a temperature at which the thermostatic switch will open the circuit of said grid means.

2. An electric iron having in combination, a body, a sole plate separably connected thereto, an electric grid means arranged to heat said sole plate when current passes through said means, a handle on said body of said iron, temperatureindicating means carried by said handle at the top of the forward end thereof, means directly connecting the sole plate and indicating means to render the latter responsive to the temperature of the sole plate, a circuit to and from said grid means, a thermostatic switch carried by said sole plate and responsive to the temperature of said sole plate and connected in the circuit of said grid means to automatically control the opening and closing of the same, and settable means including an actuating member movable with respect to said handle and carried by said handle at the top of the forward end thereof adjacent said temperature indicating means and separably connected to said thermostatic switch and arranged to be moved to a predetermined position corresponding to a temperature at which the thermostatic switch will open the circuit of said grid means, said settable means being automatically and readily separable from said thermostatic switch incident to the separation of said body and handle from said sole plate.

3. An electric iron having in combination, a body, a sole plate connected thereto, an electric grid means arranged to heat said sole plate when current passes trough said means, a handle on said body of said iron, temperature-indicating means carried by said handle at the top of the forward end thereof and including a dial which is normally horizontal during the use of said iron, means directly connecting the sole plate and indicating means to render the latter responsive to the temperature of the sole plate, a circuit to and from said grid means, a thermostatic switch responsive to the temperature of said sole plate and connected in the circuit of said grid means to automatically control the opening and closing of the same, and settable means connected to said thermostatic switch and arranged to be moved to a predetermined position correspondin to a temperature at which the thermostatic switch will open the circuit of said grid means, said settable means including a rotatable annular indicia-bearing ring surrounding the dial of said temperature-indicating means.

4. An electric iron having in combination, a body, a sole plate connected thereto, an electric grid means arranged to heat said sole plate when current passes through said means, a handle on said body of said iron, temperature-indicating means carried by said handle at the top of the forward end thereof and including a dial which is normally horizontal during the use of said iron, means directly connecting the sole plate and indicating means to render the latter responsive to the temperature of the sole plate, a circuit to and from said grid means, a thermostatic switch responsive to the temperature of said sole plate and connected in the circuit of said grid means to automatically control the opening and closing of the same, and settable means connected to said thermostatic switch andarranged to be moved to a predetermined position corresponding to a temperature at which the thermostatic switch will open the circuit of said grid means, said settable means including a rotatable annular indicia-bearing ring surrounding the dial of said temperature-indicating means and the annular edge of said ring being disposed in a plane near the upper surface of said handle, whereby an operator may readily engage said ring to adjust the position thereof. 7

MICHAEL A. ROLLMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,478,271 Weiss Dec. 18, 1923 1,930,062 Rutenber Oct. 10, 1933 1,976,854 Mayer Oct. 16, 1934 2,103,560 Smith et al Dec. 28, 1937 2,197,230 Waddell Apr. 16, 1940 2,208,432 Samuels July 16, 1940 2,235,891 Kuhn et al Mar. 25, 1941 2,345,413 Morton Mar. 28,1944 2,439,825 Sparklin Apr. 20,1948 2,440,041 Clark Apr. 20, 1948 2,436,352 Witzel 0013.25, 1949 2,496,746

Opperman Feb. 7, 1950 

